Can We Talk?: Toward an Iterative Praxis of Intergenerational Care

This project draws on ethnographic and autoethnographic evidence to explore ways of talking about aging, mental capacity, and long-term care for elderly people. Interviews with members of the Western community document a wide array of shared concerns, but also remarkable variation in how, when, and why these conversations take place. Because one of their defining characteristics is that no conversation will be precisely like another, I do not offer scripted guidance. Rather, I suggest that opening substantive dialogues around these issues requires each of us to engage in repetitive acts of vulnerability, attention, and care. I then practice vulnerability by developing my own unique script for initiating difficult conversations. Ultimately, I focus on care’s many forms, as well as the importance of practicing these skills with one’s given and chosen family. Practicing with people outside of our established networks, however, prepares us for more robust public dialogues around these issues.